Is a PicoPSU good enough?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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Cheetah
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Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 2:54 am
Location: UK

Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Cheetah » Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:13 pm

I am looking to do a build which will include a Ivy Bridge processor and probably a mini-ITX Z77 board. No overclocking will be done.

What I am looking at powering:

- CPU (77TDP)
- Motherboard
- 2x DDR3 Dimms
- 1x 2.5" SSD
- 1x Fan

Given that the 160W version of the PicoPSU only has 8A on the 12V rail (so 96W) do you think I have enough? I want my machine to be prime stable.

How would I get 160W to the power supply also? I can't find any bricks anywhere? I've heard some talk about modding a DA-2 brick but I haven't seen any instructions/pictures how to do so.

Thanks.

Jim G
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Re: Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Jim G » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:04 am

I use a 150W brick with the 160W Picopsu and it powers an Asus ITX board, 2500K, SSD, DVD drive, 4GB RAM and one 140mm fan with no dramas at all. Prime stable for 24 hours.

Cheetah
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Location: UK

Re: Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Cheetah » Sat Apr 07, 2012 6:20 am

That's interesting because that CPU is 95W TDP!

Vicotnik
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Re: Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Vicotnik » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:33 am

In reality it's nowhere near 95W though. And even if it was, a picoPSU would probably have no problem with it. With some small modifications and a beefy brick you could probably use a picoPSU to power the system in the first post, and add a discrete graphics card as well.

Abula
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Re: Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Abula » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:35 am

If you want higher than the 150W brick, maybe go with the picoPSU-160-XT + 192W Adapter Power Kit

Cheetah
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Location: UK

Re: Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Cheetah » Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:08 am

Abula wrote:If you want higher than the 150W brick, maybe go with the picoPSU-160-XT + 192W Adapter Power Kit
That 192W brick looks good but they are quite expensive in the UK so I was looking to see if there was a cheaper option.

Vicotnik
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Re: Is a PicoPSU good enough?

Post by Vicotnik » Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:42 am

You mentioned Dell DA-2. It's easy to use if you have a little experience with soldering etc. If you cut the connector you will see three white wires (+12v) and three black (ground) and also two thinner ones (one blue and one red iirc). One of those is a trigger that needs to be connected to ground in order for the brick to be on. The other is reserved and not connected to anything. (edit: checked my DA-2, red is trigger, blue is reserved) So just group the white ones together to make the +12v wire, and all the others to make ground. Then connect that to the type of connector you intend to use. Always use a multimeter to check things before connecting it to the picoPSU.

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